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InitialsDiceBearhttps://github.com/dicebear/dicebearhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/„Initials” (https://github.com/dicebear/dicebear) by „DiceBear”, licensed under „CC0 1.0” (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)WR
Posts
4
Comments
648
Joined
10 mo. ago

  • I hope this doesn’t come out the wrong way, but I’m curious what AI would be able to do to solve these issues? There are a lot of ways I could see it being used to make plans or ideas, but ultimately wouldn’t people need to trust AI and give it power over our decisions?

    Even if AI weren’t plagued with human biases, it’s hard to imagine people agreeing to trust it. People barely trust each other, and we’d have to trust those who program AI not to manipulate it in their own favor.

  • Pretty much all of the above. Sometimes it was a silly comment or argument that didn’t quite make sense. Sometimes it was like, “what are you trying to say?” but specifically asking for one’s reasoning helps clarify things.

    I still might ask it some time, but I’ve found the environment here to be more hostile to rational thought than I’d originally expected… which was a sad discovery. A lot of people seem to react without first comprehending what they’re reading.

    Also, thank you!

  • I hope it brings you joy to know that "dinosaur" kids are still memorizing these ever-growing lists. I work with kids, and the big dinosaur fan is still teaching me new dino things almost every day. We recently learned of a dinosaur that is basically another student's name +saurus. That was a cute discovery.

  • At first I lurked on my boyfriend's account. We had both left Reddit during the API debacle, but I wasn't ready to rejoin social media yet, so he hopped on Lemmy first.

    But as he shared links and news and memes with me, and I scrolled the comments, I started wanting to participate. The first few times I felt drawn to comment (but didn't yet), I wanted to ask people what the reasoning was behind their thoughts. That stuff is interesting to me.

    So when I finally sat down and made an account for myself, it was the first thought in my head. I haven't found myself asking anybody about their reasoning since then, but I still like the name.

  • People do wake up from cults. It takes a lot of work on themselves to reach that point, however, and the most transformative moments (i.e. any epiphanies about their behavior or beliefs) will likely happen when they're alone, outside of the public sphere.

    That is to say, you're unlikely to personally witness somebody break out of a cult. Yet, it still happens.

    Does that make it worth helping them "see the light"? I can't say. What I can say is that there are people who've been there, and there are resources available to help those in cult recovery. (Make no mistake, this is absolutely a cult.)

    The best hope we've got right now is that as more things turn to shit, more people will begin to question things. Instead of reflexively downvoting or attacking someone who admits to having once voted for Trump, we've got to listen to what they say happened afterward. I want to hear people share their stories of disenchantment. I want those stories to be spread far and wide, to people who might be questioning Trumpism but who're surrounded by his supporters and scared to make a move. They're the people who need to know that it's okay to change their minds. They're going to need to know that they'll be accepted by someone if they "deflect," and we need to be prepared to welcome them to sanity.

    We shouldn't respond with comments like, "iT's aBouT tiMe" or "Where have you BEEN the last 8 years?" (Both are paraphrased from comments I read elsewhere on here this morning.) I know it's tempting to give out some sort of I told you so, but it's not constructive and can push an ex-cult member away. We want people to turn a new leaf, and that means supporting those who admit to having been wrong.

    (I know this took a turn from the original comment. I don't intend this personally for you, OP. But after seeing how people react so aggressively to everything lately, I felt something like this needed to be said to Lemmy.)

  • Monday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It's an annual holiday, where banks, schools, and other institutions are typically closed.

    In other words, nazis overshadowed Martin Luther King Jr. on his own day.

  • Thank you! I was literally just thinking that.

    I also can't let go of how they say every decision is backed "by data." But then what is their data source for using corporal punishment? "I saw lions and tigers use it."

    So they think "anecdotes" are the same as "data"? AND that wild predator behaviors are suitable role models for human behaviors? Oh. Oh dear. Oh no.

  • Industry Americus

    That's the grossest name I've ever heard. Look, I'm not even getting into the "Americus" part. Sure, that is... well, it's not a name I would've picked. But more importantly, it follows the word Industry, and whether alone or paired to American industries specifically, the images conjured up from that word are far from pleasant.

    I picture smoke stacks belching into smoggy, yellow skies. I see poisoned streams flowing through dying ecosystems. I see tired workers being overworked and exploited.

    What a great name for a cute little baby to be burdened with.

  • Fun fact: the Greek word kakistos (meaning "worst"), from which the first part of kakistocracy derives, comes from the Proto-Indo European root *kakka- which means "to defecate." Source: Etymonline

    In other words, kakistocracy can be considered: Being governed by shit.

    ETA another related fact.: the word cacophony (meaning "harsh or unpleasant discordance of sound") also shares this root. It came to English via Latin, so the spelling is different, but the origin remains the same. Which is to say, a "cacophony" is a shitty sound.